


His Eve

by some_mighty_fine_print



Category: Forever (TV)
Genre: Burn Gorman - Freeform, Evading death, F/M, Forever (TV) - Freeform, Ioan Gruffudd - Freeform, Seeking death, applies bandaid, reasons to live, unhappy with ending to series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2016-04-24
Packaged: 2018-06-04 04:51:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6642052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/some_mighty_fine_print/pseuds/some_mighty_fine_print
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If you had lived for millennia and saw the world as it is today, how much longer would you want to go on? How much longer could you make yourself go on? Adam finally thought he’d lived long enough. But that’s the thing about ‘chance meetings’… they have the power to change your mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

****__Prologue  
  
In this, his final game, Adam had thought he’d had it all figured out. Thought he’d had every angle worked out and adjusted to suit the ending he’d desired.

The game had been simple. Lure Henry in. Talk to Abe. Retrieve his dagger. Mess with his fellow immortal’s mind to such an extent that, when the time came and he had the implement, Henry would not hesitate in killing him.

Simple. No?

Well, it would have been. But, as usual, the world threw a spanner in the works for Adam. Another way to spoil his carefully planned antics.  
Except, this time… Adam wasn’t so sure he minded…


	2. Chapter 1 – Doctor-Patient Confidentiality

**_ Chapter 1 – Doctor-Patient Confidentiality _ **

_Eliza Bentwith_

That was the name at the top of Adam’s list today – well, of Doctor Lewis Farber’s list. It was not often that a new name was added to his list, seeing as everyone knew he was rather particular in the cases he took. But this name stood out to him… made him want to know more. And so, he waited, steaming cup of tea in one hand, and a recently published paper on the detrimental effects of ‘molly-coddling’ in psychology in the other. Listening intently as people passed by his door. And then…

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Adam smiled and placed the paper back onto his desk, pulling the young woman’s case file out of a top drawer and skimming it briefly again as he called out. “Come in!” he looked up as the door opened and froze for a moment as he regarded the young woman who entered cautiously. “Ah…” he paused, taking a moment to gather his thoughts again. “Miss Bentwith?” she nodded. “Good, good…please have a seat…” he gestured to the single lounge seats positioned opposite each other as he stood and moved towards his tea set. “Tea? I always find it calms the nerves and breaks the ice somewhat…” he looked back at her and smiled slightly when she nodded in acceptance of his offer.

She managed a small smile as he handed her a cup and poured hot tea for her. “Thankyou…”

“My pleasure.” He replied cordially, picking up her case file and his tea and moving to sit in the seat opposite her. “Now… Eliza…” he looked up. “May I call you Eliza?”

“Eliza, Lizzy, whichever takes your fancy.” Eliza replied quietly, barely looking up from the tea he’d given her.

“I’ll start with Eliza, and maybe when you’re more comfortable around me I’ll call you Lizzy. Sound good?” he asked and quirked an eyebrow at her when she just nodded. “Okay then… why don’t you tell me why you’re here today, Eliza?”

“You’ve got my psychological assessment from the doctor that looked me over in your lap.” Eliza replied bluntly. “You tell me.”

He paused for a beat. He hadn’t been expecting _that_. He looked down at her file again. “Victim of an attempted mugging slash rape… possible post-traumatic stress disorder in regards to injury.” He looked up. “What injury?”

“It was a mugging. What do you think happened?” Eliza replied sadly, still refusing to meet his gaze. He waited and she sighed. “I sustained a knife wound to my lower abdomen.”

“I see…” he leant back and regarded her carefully. “How do you feel about what happened?” he paused, clasping his hands together when she shrugged indifferently. “Do you feel scared? Uncertain? Nervous? Prone to lash out at things that make you uncomfortable?” she didn’t look at him. “Maybe a little, hmm?” he answered for her and received another shrug. He looked at her carefully and then leant forward and pulled the small table between them to the side. He was rewarded by her head snapping in his direction. “Does having something between you and me make you feel safer? Puts a little distance between you and I perhaps? Something to hurl at me if you don’t like what I say?” he added at the end and was pleased when she smirked slightly. “Ah, there, I got a smile. Not all hope is lost if you’ve retained a sense of humour!”

“I’d hope I’d not lose _that_ in a hurry.” She replied, meeting his eyes for a second before looking into her tea again.

“No, nor I.” Adam agreed, before leaning back in his chair again. “Tell me, what is it you do for a living?”

“I used to be a research psychologist…” she replied, and he was surprised at her readily supplied answer. “But, for the last year up until the… _incident_ … I’d been lecturing at different colleges…mainly in the city here, but sometimes across state as well…”

“Is that why you feel you don’t have to be here?” Adam asked bluntly.

“Don’t put words in my mouth.” Eliza replied with a glare, then sighed. “But, yes, perhaps… thinking I know why you’re in that chair does make me a little less forthcoming.” She downed the rest of her tea and then stared into her cup. “…but no matter what they teach you, what you learn, or who you talk to…nothing prepares you for the mental trauma you go through after an incident like this…”

“Don’t I know it.” Adam replied quietly, memories of the horrors he’d endured over the past two millennia flickering through his mind. “There are just some things that no amount of learning will prepare the mind, or body, for in reality.”

“I know, right?” she spoke up again. “Everything’s subjective in theory. But theory and reality never go hand-in-hand. You think you know what to expect, but you don’t. Think you’ll act calmly and rationally, but you don’t.” she paused. “And until you’ve lived it, nothing will ever give you the capability to _understand_ …” she sighed. “All we can do is guess and hope we’re getting it right in some small way…”

“You’ve spoken more in the past two minutes than you have the entirety of this session.” Adam smirked and leant forward. “Thankyou.”

“You’re thanking me for talking at you?” she scoffed then shrugged. “Alright then.”

“It helps me understand what you’re thinking, what you’re going through. You know that.” He chided her slightly before continuing. “Was the injury very bad?”

“Not so much… missed all my major organs, so that was nice of him… bastard.” She made a face. “Sorry.”

“No, no. you use whatever words best help you describe what you’re thinking and feeling. Trust me,” he leant forward slightly and smiled encouragingly. “You can’t shock me.”

She chuckled softly. “Challenge accepted.” She paused, fiddling with the empty tea cup in her lap. “In the end I just needed a few stitches… it was more the fact that what had happened to me had actually _happened_. It wasn’t just some terrible nightmare my mind invented from watching horror movies my whole life… it was real. It had happened to me…” she paused and let out a huff of air. “It’s a part of my life now that I can’t ever get rid of and it makes me feel… makes me feel…” she seemed to struggled for the right words… and then give up. “But it doesn’t matter. It happened, I can’t change it… I need to get on with things.”

“Oh, no, wait, hang on…” Adam sat up straight. “You were doing so well there!”

“No, I really wasn’t.” she sighed. “English was failing me.”

“No, come one. Try again…” Adam asked her gently. “What were you trying to say? How did it – how _does_ it – make you feel?”

“I…” she began angrily, hen trailed off again. “I’m not sure I have the words at present…”

Adam sighed. “That’s alright, we can come back to it another time… though it is the reason you’re here.”

“I realise that, Doctor Farber-”

“Lewis.” Adam replied quickly, wanting to establish a friendly relationship with his patient; but suddenly hating the fact he couldn’t tell her his real name.

She paused, as if making an assumption or analysing his delivery. He didn’t know what field she specialised in in psychology. “Personality profiling, so the forensic branch.” She smirked at his expression. “You were going to ask what field I specialise in.”

He smirked. “Very precise facial reading for someone who’s only looked at me five times in the whole thirty minutes we’ve been here.” Adam looked her over carefully. “I guess that’s why you feel a little let down by your job and your training… if knowing the psychological profile of a psychopath or serial rapist couldn’t prepare you, then what would?” he asked, happy when she nodded to his rhetorical question.

“Too true.” She took a deep breath then looked at him curiously. “Where’d you study then?”

“London… Oxford, actually.” Adam replied with a wry smile.

“Ah of course, I could hear it in the ‘oh’s’.” she smiled and nodded her head once.

“Oh, yes, I’d forgotten that little game.” He scribbled a few notes down to add to her case file. “Did you spend some time in London then? You must have to know that little trick…”

“Six months when I was first out of college. I interned over there.” She admitted then sighed happily. “Best six months of my life.”

“Have you ever considered going back?” Adam asked, still scribbling down his notes from the session as he listened.

“Not until recently… but I’ve got people I hold dear here… I would miss them too much.” Eliza replied carefully. “You’re making me nervous with all your hurried notes…”

“Sorry…” Adam paused in his writing.

“No, don’t be…” she smiled a little when he looked up. “I’m just telling you how it makes me feel.”

“Touche’.” Adam narrowed his eyes as he smirked at her. There was more to this girl than the eye could see.

_Knock. Knock._

“That’ll be my friend…” Eliza stated suddenly.

“Right…” Adam felt deflated that he hadn’t learnt more about her, but stood and took the cup from her as he guided her towards the door. “Same time next week?” he asked as he opened the door.

“I don’t think I-”

“Oh, right door! Lizzy, I…” Adam looked up at Abe, Henry’s associate. “Oh!” Abe recognised him. “Lizzy, this is the gentleman who sold that gorgeous seventeenth century silver tea tray to me!”

Eliza glanced back at Adam as she stepped out into the hall with Abe. “I didn’t pick you as one for antique collection, Doctor Farber…”

“I’d say there are a great many things you wouldn’t pick me for.” Adam forced a smile, seeing the second form of recognition in Abe’s eyes. Ah. So Henry _had_ told him. He turned towards Eliza. “I’ll schedule you for the same time next week then?”

“How do you know I’ll even come back?” Eliza looked up at him, though not as defiantly as she could have he’d wager.

“I don’t.” Adam admitted. “But I’d like you to.”

She looked him up and down. “We’ll see…”

“Yes we will, Lizzy…” Adam smirked as she and Abe walked away. “Yes we _will_.”

***

_{2nd session…}_

“So, how long have you known Abe and Henry?” Adam asked after the initial light banter and first few questions to break the ice.

“Geeze, straight to it then, hmm?” Eliza shook her head slightly as she sipped her tea. “I met Abe during my six month internship in London… and I met Henry upon moving here and discovering Abe had his antique shop here.”

“Do you talk to them much?” Adam pried gently, testing the waters.

“I spend as much time with Abe as I can… he’s been such a good friend to me during the years I’ve known him, and he’s more than willing to lend an ear, or teach me something I don’t know.” Eliza smiled fondly at some memory. “I’d say he’s my _best_ friend…”

“Is he who you talk to when you won’t talk to me about something?” Adam inquired further.

“Yes. He is.” She nodded. “He’s barely shutup about that silver tea tray you sold him… I think he’s going to keep it in his and Henry’s private collection…”

“I’m not surprised.” Adam smirked. “It’s _quite_ rare.”

“I know, that crest in the centre… and the condition it’s in! It’s astonishing!” Eliza grinned briefly.

Adam redirected the conversation again. “Last time you weren’t ready to say how the entire ordeal made you feel…” he paused, scribbling a few notes down before looking up at her again. “Do you think you might try again now?”

“How being nearly mugged, raped, and then actually stabbed makes me feel?” Eliza reiterated, running a hand down her face until it stopped over her mouth as she shook her head. Her hand dropped from her face and she frowned. “Weak… pathetic… dirty… like I was garbage. No! Like I was _nothing_.” She scrunched up her nose. “Like I was good for nothing more than to satisfy his desire to fuck something, and then take that thing’s money if it had any.”

“Good… good…” Adam nodded. “Saying it out loud helps.” He scribbled something else down. “But, you know that’s not true, right? You’re definitely something special, Eliza.” He paused when she looked up, eyes brimming with tears. “You’re not nothing. These past two sessions we’ve had together I’ve seen a strong, independent young woman who’ll fight her way out of a crisis. Now, in the situations like you found yourself in, it is usually better not to fight back.”

“In muggings, yeah.” Eliza agreed.

Adam leant forward, passing her a box of tissues as he saw the first of her tears fall. “But no one should have to feel the degradation and humiliation he forced upon you that night. _No one._ ”

“Thankyou…” she murmured softly. Adam’s intercom buzzed as she went to say something else, telling him his next appointment had arrived. “I’d better let you get on then…” she smiled and dried her eyes once more. Standing and calling over her shoulder as she opened the door. “Same time next week?”

“Of course.” Adam agreed as he scribbled his last few notes down and closed her case file. “Oh, Eliza?” Adam called after her as she paused in his doorway. “Told you you’d come back.”

She smirked as she looked back at him. “Not in so many words, doctor. Not in so many words…”


	3. Chapter 2 – Everything Hinges on Coincidence…

**_Chapter 2 –  Everything Hinges on Coincidence…_**  
Adam walked along the cobblestone alleyway that intersected his street two doors down from his apartment, letting the cool late-afternoon air clear his head. He hadn’t had to do that for Abe… but he wanted to make amends. Somehow… talking to Eliza made him want to be something more than what he’d previously been. Something more than the front he showed everyone. Whether it be patients seeing the friendly, open psychiatrist, people he was interested in seeing his cold, calculating side, or his enemies seeing…

A slightly cruel smile graced Adam’s lips briefly. Well, only those who needed to see that side of him would do so… and they would do so _screaming_.

As Adam left the alleyway and stepped out onto the bustling street he considered each of the people whose eyes he met. Passing them, not as an ordinary person might, but as someone who could see into their lives and understand. A metaphor occurred to Adam as another group of people talking loudly jostled past him.

_‘We are all headlights passing other cars in the night…barely recognising the others as_ there _…’_

It was true. Who ever gave people they passed on the street more than a glance. Who took the time to consider that each of these people had lives, families, homes, secrets, regrets, fears, ambitions, and desires? Maybe one in every thousand people might take a second to realise that. But, we are the centres of our own universes, and mostly take heed of what adheres to ourselves.

Adam had had this revelation before, many times, and it always darkened his mood. And, usually, when he bumped into someone after thinking this, he was less than pleasant. But, instead of the surly scowl he usually gave people who walked into him, Adam found himself smiling as he recognised the young woman who’d bumped into him as none other than Eliza Bentwith.

“Eliza!” he cried happily upon seeing her in the street carrying groceries. “You’re out and about!”

“I guess you’re helping then…” she smiled. “But I’m cheating slightly… the grocery store is barely a stone’s throw from where I live.” She gestured from the corner store she’d just come from, across the street to an old building with a blue front door. “See?”

“Small world.” He smirked slightly, glancing back the way he’d come briefly. “I didn’t realise I lived so close to a patient.”

She grimaced. “Sorry…”

“No, don’t be.” He shrugged. “It’s nice knowing there’s _some_ good company in the area.”

She laughed quietly then shivered. “Well… I’m freezing.” She made a face as she looked away. “I guess I’d better let you keep on your way.”

“You’re not keeping me… I was just on a stroll.” Adam gave her a thoughtful smile.

“Oh!” she smiled back, then frowned ever so slightly. “Would you like to come up for a pot of tea then?” she shook the bag in her left hand, her voice enticing in its gentle playfulness. “Just resupplied myself with Earl Grey, Chamomile, and Chinese Green tea…”

“I really shouldn’t…” Adam replied instantly.

“Oh, right…” she trailed off, looking a little downtrodden at his barely concealed ‘no’. “Professional grounds. Gotcha.”

“It’s not that I wouldn’t like to, you realise?” Adam reiterated as she turned towards where she lived.

“I know. I used to do what you do, I get it.” She replied, her voice more cheerful than the expression he saw on her face when she half turned to call back to him.

Adam frowned as he watched her walk away, curious as to why he felt –for lack of a better word– _bad_ after seeing her saddened by his declining her offer. After all, not many people desired his company any more. He pursed his lips for a moment in thought, and then followed her; smirking as he tapped her shoulder and she jumped slightly.

“Maybe I will take that tea you offered.” He smirked beguilingly.

He saw her look him over cautiously. “What of the ‘rule’?”

“Sod the rule!” Adam winked. “Besides… one more session and you’ll be moving on.”

“I-” she began but was cut off by a gunshot. A gunshot that had emanated from behind Adam… and had her staring, wide-eyed, at the shooter.

“Eliza Bentwith!” a male voice half shouted-half cried, inordinately loud, behind Adam; and he was shocked that, as he turned to defend her, she stepped in front of him to do the same. “He’s dead! You could’ve helped him and now he’s dead!” she bent down and placed her shopping on the ground either side of herself and held her hands up in surrender.

“David, I’m sorry Dennis is gone…” Eliza stated in a non-threatening manner as she took a small step forward. “Yes, he was under my care until recently… but no matter who he talked to, he refused all forms of medication, all forms of therapy that might have helped him. Short of forcing those measures on him, there was nothing anyone could do-”

“Bullshit!” the shooter, now identified to Adam as ‘David’, shouted and fired a shot that hit the steps by Eliza’s feet; sending small bits of cement flying and causing Eliza to jump back into Adam slightly.

“You alright?” he asked quickly as he felt her shaking. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine…” she replied as she glanced back at him. “Just… stay here… I won’t let you get hurt…”

“Eliza-”

“What are you plotting?!” the shooter demanded in a high, almost scream.

“We’re not plotting…” Eliza called back as she took a step forward and held up her hands again. “He’s making sure I’m alright…” she trailed off, flexing her fingers slightly as she took another step down towards the man. “David… I’m coming down to talk to you…okay?” she asked, only moving again when he nodded. “David…” she said assertively as she got about five metres from him. “I’m sorry about your brother… but this is not the way to grieve his loss…” she looked around deliverately slowly as police sirens sounded in the distance. “There are _children_ here, David… innocent people who you could hurt if you continue in this way…”

Adam watched the shooter look around, looking like he was about to burst into tears.

“He… he’s _gone_ …” the shooter sobbed. “He’s gone forever because you didn’t make him take his damn meds…”

“He stopped coming to see me… he took himself off my list of patients, David…” Adam listened intently to Eliza, rather enamoured by her ability to talk calmly even when she was terrified. “I couldn’t make him do anything. I couldn’t ask him to take his medication, I couldn’t commit him so he’d be made to take them… I couldn’t do a _thing_ about it… and it drove me mad that I couldn’t help someone who’d come to me…”

“He…always said he was off to see you…” the shooter swallowed, now actually crying Adam noted silently from his place on the steps.

“You can ask to see my records… he stopped coming to sessions two months before he committed suicide.” Eliza reasoned as police cars pulled up nearby and she looked around. “Look… if this goes on much longer, they’re gonna start shooting and a lot of people are going to get hurt, David… David, look at me.” She stated firmly to keep his attention. “Don’t look at them, look at me. You can walk away from this on nothing more than a mental break from grief…do you understand?”

“Y-yes…”

“Good… good…” she slowly lowered her hands. “All you need to do now, David, is give me the gun… the police will put their guns away then and all that’ll have to happen is a few people give statements…alright?” she asked and he nodded. “Okay…just…hand me the gun, okay David?” he raised the gun level with Eliza’s head and Adam reached out towards her as people all shouted for her to get down… but she just shouted back. “No! No, it’s okay!” she called calmly. “David… _please_ …” it took him a long moment before he lowered his hand again and, with a quiet sob, relinquished the gun to Eliza. She placed it on the ground and kicked it away before pulling the man who’d shot at her into a hug; letting the police take him away a few moments later.

She jumped when Adam stepped up behind her and asked with a curious frown. “What did you say to him just then?”

“I said…” she looked back to where the man was being guided into a police car. “I said _thankyou…_ ”

***

Once inside her apartment, and giving her a few moments to adjust to being safe again after talking to the police, Adam commended Eliza for keeping a calm head under pressure. She seemed less than forthcoming in her reply, which took longer than usual for her to form:

“Couldn’t let him hurt anyone…” she replied, but changed the subject quickly. “Oh! I was talking to Abe…”

“Oh yes?”

“Yes… and I might have something you might find interesting…” she trailed off as she poured boiling water from her kettle into the teapot to brew, placing cups on the bench as she turned and frowned into the middle-distance. “Now… where did I put it?”

Adam’s eyes followed her as she rifled through some blankets. “Why would you keep it in there?”

“I had a reason… but it’s slipped my mind for the minute.” Eliza replied as she stood and turned back to face him, a bronze dagger held delicately between her hands. A bronze dagger that was all too familiar to Adam. “Does the Roman dagger you’re looking for resemble this one?”

Adam swallowed as he leant forward and let her place the dagger in his hands gently. “Almost exactly…”

“I’ll give it to Abe as a reference then,” she smiled as she went back into her kitchen area and then returned with two steaming cups of tea. “If you could detail what would be different, I’ll pass that on as well…”

“Of course…” Adam nodded, frowning as he sipped his tea. “Why are you doing this?”

“What?”

“Going out of your way to be kind to me?” Adam asked with a curious glance. “To help me?”

“You’ve helped me… if I can’t at least do something nice for the man who got me out of my flat once, then twice, a week… then…” she trailed off, then smiled warmly at him over the rim of her cup. “Let’s just say it’s my way of saying _thankyou_ , shall we?”

“Is that what this is?” Adam stopped the smirk that almost formed on his face; but it crept across his features anyway when Eliza refused to answer him. “There’s more to you than meets the eye, isn’t there, Eliza?”

“The same as you then.” Eliza smirked back, looking away briefly before adding. “And… it’s Lizzy, Lewis… _just_ Lizzy.”

Adam chuckled. “My apologies… _Lizzy_.”

***

_{Two months later…}  
_ “Contemporary research favours the view that psychopathic behaviour results from a complex interaction between neuropsychological and socialization factors.” Eliza recited from memory, pausing for a second before citing the quote she’d used, “Bartol and Bartol, two thousand and eleven, page one-eighty-nine…” Eliza looked at each of her students sitting in her tutorial class. “With this in mind, how might we use our knowledge of ‘victimology’ to further narrow the ‘offender type’ when approaching this case?”

Silence.

Eliza made a hopeful face at her students. “Anyone?”

“Profiling?” one of the young men volunteered.

Eliza nodded. “Elaborate?”

“Find the common denominators among the victims to: _one_ , narrow the offender-type possibilities, and _two_ , to enable law enforcement to make the public aware of who is most likely to be in danger.” A young woman at the back piped up.

“Very good, Penelope.” Eliza smiled warmly, then looked at the time as she heard voices outside the classroom. “Okay, remember, the lecture is on Friday, we’ll be covering psychosis and sociopathy… by next tute I want common denominators and motives from each of you-”

“Everybody on the ground now!” a gruff, male voice shouted as several men entered the room and shot a few rounds towards the ceiling.

“Alright, alright…” Eliza held up her hands as debris fell to the floor and she turned to her students and they all screamed and shouted. “All of you _shutup_!” she glowered until they were all silent. “Drop your things and…” she looked to the man she assumed was the leader. “Did you want us sitting, kneeling, or lying down?”

“On your knees… against the wall over there.” He replied, voice gruff and unfriendly.

Eliza looked back to her students. “You heard the man, kneel by the far wall, quietly now…” she moved slowly in the same direction as her students. “Is there anything else we can do to make this easier for you, sir?”

“Are you taking the piss?” another of the men snarled.

“No, I’m a psychologist. I recognise you want something. I’m trying to figure out what you want so I can either help or let you get on with it.” Eliza replied bluntly.

“You,” the first man grabbed Eliza’s arm and yanked her towards the windows. “Come here.” He held her in front of the windows, pressing the end of the gun under her jaw. “Wave to our friends, the police, for us dear.” Eliza held up a hand and pressed it against the glass…and then the phone behind them rang.

“Boss… it’s the fuzz.” Another of the men spoke up. “They’re saying we can all walk out of here-”

“We’re not releasing the hostages. Hang up.” The man holding Eliza’s arm snapped.

Eliza licked her lips nervously. “What’s the end goal to this?” she glanced sideways. “What do you want them to do?”

“If the government doesn’t admit to the existence of extra-terrestrial life, then we’ll blow the whole conspiracy wide open…” one of the men behind Eliza stated firmly.

“Yeah, we’ve got the evidence!” another of the men continued cheerfully. “They’ve been hiding the truth for decades, and it’s time the public knew the truth!”

“My God, you’re insane…” one of the young woman in Eliza’s class exclaimed quietly, followed by the sound of her head hitting the wall she was kneeling in front of, and her crying out in pain and shock.

“OI!” Eliza turned to face the man who’d injured her student. “Leave her alone!”

“Don’t you _dare_ try and order me around!” the man she’d shouted at yelled back. “Do you have a death wish?” he asked, slightly more calmly, and waved his gun in her direction.

“Don’t threaten professor Bentwith!”

“Tommy, shutup.” Eliza narrowed her eyes at her students. “And that applies to all of you.” She paused as she smelt something funny and then heard hissing and one of the doors to the classroom open… and then yellow gas filled the room, stinging eyes and blinding everyone in the room. Eliza fell to her hands and knees and, screwing her eyes up, crawled towards her students as shouting and gunshots filled the room. “Everyone grab a hold of each other’s hands and come on!”

As quick as she could make them all crawl, Eliza tugged them towards the door at the back of the classroom, knocking a table over and taking out one of the shooters as she left and got two of the lads in her class to, with bleary eyes, drag a bookcase in front of the door before they all ran in different directions.

Wiping furiously at her eyes as tear-gas induced liquid ran down her cheeks, she ran down the nearest corridor, not realising until it was too late that she’d bowled straight into someone.

“Eliza?!” A familiar voice asked in shock. “What’s…” the voice trailed off as loud voices drew nearer and several shots were fired. “Shit…”

***

Adam halted as he rounded the corner and was run into, at full pelt, by the young woman he’d been looking for in the first place.

“Eliza?!” Adam asked in shock. “What’s…” he trailed off as loud voices drew nearer and several shots were fired. “Shit…” he looked at her eyes and, realising she could barely see, pulled her into the storage room behind them both. He made a displeased sound when she struggled against him. “Lizzy!” he whisper shouted at her. “It’s Lewis! It’s Doctor Farber! Calm down!”

“Lewis?” Eliza blinked through the barely lit room, gripping the front of Adam’s jacket tightly.

“Yes.” Adam nodded and reached up to quietly turn the lock on the store room door. “Are you injured?”

“Um… no…” Eliza replied after a beat.

“You sure? You’re bleeding…” Adam noticed and touched her arm, sighing when she hissed. “Here…” he looked up and saw a first aid kit. “Let me do something about that…”

“I… thankyou…” Eliza murmured softly, jumping when several shots were fired again and flinching away from the door; apologising when Adam told her to stay still. “Why are you here?!”

“I was coming to see you… the office told me you were back at work and I wanted to see how you were doing.” Adam replied cautiously in a whisper as several feet ran past the storage room door and he handed her his handkerchief.

“Judging by today’s events… how would _you_ say it went?” Eliza asked sardonically as she dabbed at her eyes.

“You’re alive…” Adam pointed out bluntly. “So there’s a positive for you right off the bat.”

After a while the shooting ceased, but voices started to call out for Eliza; and Adam realised he recognised one of the voices.

“Miss Bentwith?!” a determined, female voice called.

“Eliza?! Where are you?” Henry called next.

“Wait, you know her?” the female voice asked in shock. “Trust you to be affiliated with those in higher education on a regular basis…”

Eliza stood and, brushing herself and Adam off, stepped out into the hallway again. “Henry!”

“Oh! Thank God!” Henry smiled as he saw her, then visibly froze when he looked at Adam before returning his attention to Eliza. “Where were you?”

“Hiding in the store room.” She motioned behind herself and Adam.

“And, why are _you_ here?” Henry asked Adam in a clipped tone.

“Doctor Farber was here to assess if I was coping with returning to work.” She turned to look up at Adam. “I guess I’ll be dropping round to your office again then?”

“Probably for the best.” The female now identified as a detective as she revealed her badge nodded to Eliza. “Detective Martinez, I’d like to ask you a few questions about what’s happened.”

“Of course-”

“After what’s happened, and knowing what triggers her PTSD – that’s post-traumatic stress disorder if you didn’t know detective,” Adam explained, as if to a child. “I don’t think it would be wise for her to talk about it right now.” He looked her over as she stared up at him in confusion. “No. I think a stiff drink is in order.”

“It’s only five…” Eliza half frowned-half smiled at him, then put on a tired, worried face; seeming to see the look in his eyes that asked her to play along. “But, perhaps a little down time to clear my head would be good.” She turned to the detective and Henry. “I’ll come down to the station first thing in the morning, detective Martinez.”

“Fine. Ten?” the detective asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Ten.” Eliza agreed. “Now, if you’ll excuse me for a minute… I need to make sure my students are alright…”

***

Adam relished the familiar hum the alcohol incited in his system, but was more glad of not drinking alone this evening as he stared with curious admiration at the young woman who sat across the table from him. A young woman who was staring back at him over the rim of her wine glass with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

“What?” Adam finally asked as she closed her eyes and sipped her wine with a smile.

“You’re staring at me.” Eliza murmured as she placed her glass back on the table and cocked her head to one side as she regarded him.

“And?” Adam smirked back at her, gesturing out the window to his right. “It’s a lovely night… there’s a beautiful girl sitting across from me…”

“And somebody’s going to die…” Eliza added on at the end, shaking her head when he froze. “It’s a quote from a British television show called _Jekyll_.”

“Good to hear…” Adam chuckled, relaxing again. “Because, for a moment there…”

“You looked like I was gonna shoot you or something.” Eliza laughed quietly.

Adam’s eyes narrowed and a genuine smile touched his features. “I don’t believe I’ve ever heard you laugh…” he caught her gaze and held it. “I do believe I would like to hear that sound more often.”

She smirked and raised her glass again. “Then say something funny.”

Adam nodded his head to the side once. “Putting me a little on the spot there…”

“Damn straight.” Eliza replied with a smug smile as she pressed the lip of her glass to her lips. “Pay you back for putting _me_ on the spot all the time.”

“Hey, not fair. That’s my job.” Adam replied but couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face.

“What? You can’t be spontaneous and tell a joke?” Eliza simpered and leant across the table slightly, her glass held level with her head. “Make me laugh, Doctor Farber…”

“And…” Adam looked into his drink for a moment. “If I can’t?”

“Then this might be a poor excuse for a date…” she smirked and gave him a wink. “But I’ll still enjoy the company.”

“Date?” Adam quirked a brow at her.

He saw her expression falter for a moment before she shrugged and chuckled. “Relax. It was in jest.”

“Not that I’m against the idea…” Adam amended gently, before looking back to his drink. “But I’ve never been one with the ability to incite laughter on a whim…”

“So your social skills are a little rusty.” Eliza shrugged and leant forward again. “They can’t be as bad as mine.”

Adam took a gulp of his drink. “ _I do not have the talent of conversing easily with others…”_

_“But you always speak so eloquently-”_

_“My professional voice and my own are different entities…” Adam frowned as he spoke. “Holding conversation outside of my professional life can be…difficult.”_

_“Perhaps you should take your own advice then, and practice.” Eliza smiled as he glanced up at her. “I’m sure if you wanted something enough you’d find the words.”_

_“You’re right.” Adam agreed as he thought back to his getting Henry’s attention. He saw one young man shove another. “I get the feeling this environment might be going to get hostile shortly.”_

_A glass hurled down the bar and shattered against the bar taps. “Or now…” Eliza glanced back at the now brawling young men. “Should we take our leave, or…?”_

_“Yes, I think we should.” Adam agreed, confused when she smiled as she stood and, grabbing his hand, ran with him to the door; both of them barely missed by a chair that seemed to have been hurled after them._

_A shocked huff of air escaped Eliza as the glass shattered and bounced across the pavement behind them, followed by a soft, lilting laugh that Adam lost all ability to describe. All he knew was that the laugh suited her… that that laugh was her… and that the sound warmed him like no other as, slightly breathless, she took his hand again and started running. And he ran with her…_

_***_

Adam breathed a dejected sigh as he trod up the steps to Eliza’s apartment building with her; but found his smile again when he looked up and saw her walking backwards up the stairs so she could watch him.

“What?” she asked when he chuckled softly.

“You’re staring.”

She smirked and then shrugged. “I guess I never realised til now how handsome you actually are…” she replied casually as she fished through her bag for her keys, stumbling slightly as she turned on the last step. “Whoops!”

“Careful there…” Adam leapt up the remaining steps to steady her.

“Thanks…” she trailed off as she stood straight and noticed at the same time as Adam how close they both were…and Adam found himself wanting… _to kiss her_. “Well… goodnight then…” she breathed quietly, her tongue darting out over her lower lip enticingly as she leant back slightly and managed a small smile. “I…had a lovely time…”

“As did I…” Adam admitted with a smile of his own. “I don’t remember having had such a nice night out in _quite_ some time…”

“Maybe you should try it more then.” Eliza replied quietly and Adam saw her swallow nervously.

“Take my own advice and… _practice_ …” he murmured as he closed the space between himself and Eliza again and leant forward slightly, secretly pleased when her eyelids began fluttering closed as if anticipating his kiss.

“Yes…” she whispered, his eyes closing when he saw hers flutter shut. “ _Practice…_ ”

Adam, in that moment, was so ready to kiss the young woman in front of him. And he would have too… if that damned car hadn’t backfired and caused them both to flinch apart as if expecting to see the shooter from earlier back again.

Adam sighed as he saw the shy blush creep over her cheeks as she turned her key in the lock and bid him a find goodnight again before disappearing into the confines of her home. But Adam found himself smiling as he began his walk home at the thought of what might’ve happened…

_‘_ _If only that car hadn’t backfired and frightened her…’_


	4. Chapter 3 – The Glint of Metal

**_Chapter 3 – The Glint of Metal_**  
Adam hummed contentedly as he saw Abe’s antique shop hone into view ahead and smirked at the quaint tinkling the bell made as he opened the door; the sound taking him back to a bygone era. He looked over the grand old furniture and famous pieces of art scattered here and there – a painting by Van Gough on the far wall that no one actually knew was by Van Gough… and people would _kill_ for if they ever found out.

A quiet rustling around a corner drew Adam’s attention out of the past and back to the present and he halted in his tracks when he rounded that corner and found Eliza pouring over old documents with Abe and comparing the information with whatever she was reading on the laptop in front of her; a half-eaten pastry in her left hand.

She looked up and nearly jumped when she noticed him watching her and Abe, placing the pastry on a plate and brushing her fingers against her clothes as she stood straight to greet him; a hint of a blush creeping across her cheeks that made Adam’s ego practically _glow_.

“Doctor Farber…” Eliza smiled and forced herself to swallow what she was eating to talk clearer. “What are you doing here?”

“I might ask the same of you, Lizzy.” Adam chuckled as he stepped up to the old table she and Abe had turned into a workstation. “I came to see if Abe had made any progress in finding the dagger I asked Henry to ask him about.”

“Oh…right…” Eliza swallowed thickly as she leant over her work again. “I’m actually helping with that at the moment…”

“From what Henry tells me, this dagger must mean an awful lot to you if you’ve been to all this trouble trying to locate it before asking here…” Abe said solemnly.

“A great deal of sentimental value, yes.” Adam agreed with a curt nod. “But, to be honest… there’s just something about knives, and swords, that provided a poetic kind of beauty… makes the heart race.”

“What is it about the glint of metal that gets men’s blood flowing?” she sighed melodramatically.

“It reminds us of a bygone era where we actually got to wield knives and swords… and rescue damsels in distress.” Abe winked at the end.

“Yes, well,” Eliza stood and went to put some old files away. “This damsel is sick of needing to be rescued.”

“And there’s the thought that the blade was once stained with blood.” Adam continued as she came back, holding her gaze and not letting her break it. “There’s something empowering about holding the point of life and death in your hand…”

“And frightening.” Eliza glanced at him thoughtfully for a moment before looking back at the laptop screen I front of her. “But the same could be said about the point of orgasm.”

“Lizzy!” Abe cried in shock.

“No, no, it’s fine… she has a point, too.” Adam frowned, but let the look she’d given pass. “What are you looking at?”

“Oh! It’s great! If you can find any physical documentation of the object in question and cite it on here, it can give you the last ten owners!” Abe beamed excitedly. “I didn’t even know this website existed until Lizzy showed me today!” he paused, as if having an epiphany. “Imagine the pieces I could locate…”

“Focus.” Eliza chuckled as she scrolled through a list on the laptop screen. “Geeze, they really wanted this dagger hidden…” she frowned. “Like they know something about it…”

“Like what?” Abe asked as she brought up another page to compare with the one she was looking at.

She gaped, then shut her mouth quickly. “Well… if the carbon dating is correct and they’re not lying about where it was found…” she swallowed and turned the screen so Abe could see it better. “Then they’d have good reason to keep it in private collections.”

“This is in a museum nearby…” Abe said curiously. “And they’re considering selling it!”

“I wouldn’t Abe…” Eliza narrowed her eyes at the image and compared it to the documentation. “The colour’s off…” she made a face. “No, that’s not it… I’ll keep looking… it’s got to be here somewhere…”

“Try a German collection.” Adam stated bluntly, moving around to look at the screen from behind her.

“You got a name for any collections or owners you think might have it?” Eliza asked quietly, glancing over her shoulder at him.

“Josef Mengele.” Adam replied coldly, watching as she typed the name in. “He was a Nazi…”

“A surgeon, hired by Hitler to experiment in the realms of _immortality_.” Henry’s voice came from behind Adam, and he raised an eyebrow at Henry when he stepped around and wrapped an arm about Abe’s shoulders. “And torture those he thought had the answers until they gave it up.” He looked from Eliza and Abe to Adam. “Abe, Lizzy, meet Adam.”

Adam’s eyes widened as he looked to Eliza when she frowned and then turned her scowl on him as realisation hit her. He saw it all. Henry’s tales of an anonymous caller, what she’d heard about who he called _Adam_. But, just when he thought he’d lost her, he saw something else in her eyes. It was almost _thanks_ …

“You gave Abe the registry his parent’s names were in…” she breathed and Adam turned to Henry as Abe’s eyes widened.

“I tell you, _one_ immortal was enough trouble… now I know _two_ of you!” Abe groaned. “Are any more of you going to spring from the woodwork?!”

Adam gave Henry a slightly displeased look when he finally spoke again. “Not _quite_ the reaction you were hoping for I’d guess then, hmm?”

“Lizzy!” Henry looked at her imploringly.

“Oi! Don’t go all ‘dad’ on me. Coz you’re not, okay?” Eliza glowered. “I’m really angry at you.” She pointed at Adam and he gave her a confused look. “You got inside my head and made me think you were someone who cared for me and that I could…” she trailed off with a huff. “But, you helped Abe… so, as much as I’d like to, I can’t scream or throw things at him.” She looked at Henry. “Besides, without him you wouldn’t have known you and Abe are actually related.” She gave him a smug smile. “Would you?”

Adam made a shocked sound. “Well, that’s nice-”

“No. you can shutup.” Eliza cut him off.

“Do you know what happened to the last person to try and tell me what to do?” Adam narrowed his eyes at Eliza slightly.

“Don’t care.” She turned the laptop so he could see it. “This what you’re after?”

Adam swallowed as he watched the cogs turn behind her eyes. “Yes.”

She sighed and grabbed her coat. “All of you… stay…” the young women levelled the three males with a stern look, “I’ll be back in half an hour…”

***

Eliza watched each of the men standing looking at the dagger she’d gotten from the museum nearby; she looked to Henry. “Well?”

Henry’s eyes were nearly bugging out of his head. “That’s the dagger rumoured to have been have been used when Brutus murdered Julius Caesar in forty-nine AD!”

“No wonder you wanted it back…” Abe squinted at the screen until he donned his glasses again.

“Well, I guess that answers the question of how old you are.” Eliza said tersely. “Oh, but what do I call you now? Lewis? Doctor Farber? Adam?” she narrowed her eyes at him. “Or _Caesar_?”

“So… this dagger killed Julius Caesar?” Abe looked at Adam warily.

“Yes, except this one is a reproduction.” Henry said guardedly.

“How can you tell?” Abe asked with a frown.

“The colour of the bronze is all wrong. No. this was crafted somewhere within the last four hundred years or so…” Eliza lifted the bronze dagger. “The weight is wrong too…” she sighed and placed it back on the table. “Plus, if it had been the real deal… Adam would’ve absconded with it by now.”

“If this is the reproduction… where’s the _actual_.” Adam narrowed his eyes at the dagger.

“It goes everywhere _with_ this one.” Eliza sighed and leant on the table again. “Meaning it’s in a vault… or in one of the museum owners private collections.”

“Meaning?” Abe asked her as Adam looked at each of them curiously.

“Meaning it’s untouchable…” Eliza replied bluntly.

“Do we know _which_ owner might have it?” Adam coaxed as he edged towards Eliza.

“No. Or else I would’ve gone and threatened to rip their ‘you-know-what’s’ off.” She mumbled and stood straight. “Well, we did all we can… your turn, Ada-”

Adam cut her off by twining an arm about her waist and pressing a hand over her mouth, tutting at Henry and Abe when they made to run forward. “Ah-uh…” he cooed softly. “If I do anything to her it’s permanent… no fixing it if she dies, Henry.” Eliza made a muffled sound of protest and clawed at Adam’s hands. “And I don’t think she wants that…”

“Let her go!” Henry demanded.

“Um… _no_.” Adam gave Henry a small smile. “I think I’ll keep her as collateral until you two can produce my dagger.” He explained… but it was only an excuse.

He wanted time alone with her to explain. He could make her understand he hadn’t used her, that he wouldn’t use her… well, _that_ part was out now considering he was using her to get out of the antique shop. Adam could confess his lives, loves, and sins to her, knowing she’d understand because she knew about Henry…

He sighed as he applied pressure against a point in her neck that would make her pass out.  
              _If only she’d let him…_


	5. Chapter 4 – Hear Me Out

**_Chapter 4 – Hear Me Out_**  
Adam paced back and forth across his living room floor, casting occasional glances at an unconscious Eliza sprawled languidly across his plush lounge where he’d placed her some time ago. She was his bargaining chip. She was mortal, and Henry and Abe would do anything to ensure her safety. He shouldn’t feel guilty or like he’d betrayed her confidence. He shouldn’t feel like he’d used her. But he had… and he did… and it was messing with his head.

This wasn’t part of the plan. The plan had been: find the strength to end it, lure Henry in. Talk to Abe. Retrieve his dagger. Mess with his fellow immortal’s mind to such an extent that, when the time came and he had the implement, Henry would not hesitate in killing him.

Simple, no?

Well, it would have been. But, as usual, the world threw a spanner in the works for Adam. Another way to spoil his carefully planned antics. The universe decided to throw a girl at him. A girl whose personality fascinated him and her non-existent fear of him made him want her in a way he hadn’t wanted anyone for millennia. A girl who stood up to him, and was stubborn to the point he sometimes almost lost his temper.

Adam paused by the lounge and looked down at Eliza’s unconscious form and hovered his hand over her body. Without giving himself permission he’d developed _feelings_ for the young woman lying unconscious and at his mercy below him. Adam felt his lip curl in frustration at himself as he turned away from her sleeping form abruptly. He couldn’t afford these feelings anymore. And it would be only a lifetime. One lifetime. A fleeting moment compared to the eons he’d spent wandering, isolated and alone, through the world.

Adam swallowed as he glanced over his shoulder at her again. But… he wanted it. He wanted _her_. He… he…

Adam swallowed as she began to stir… he _loved_ her.

Eliza’s eyes fluttered open… closed… open… and then landed, frightened and furious, on Adam.

_‘Oh, yeah,’_ Adam thought to himself as she hesitantly sat up, watching him like he was a jaguar about to pounce at her, and looked him up and down. _‘This is going to go well…’_

***

Eliza groaned softly as she came back to herself, her eyes drifting open. She blinked once, twice, and then froze as she saw movement in her periphery; remembering what had happened in Abe’s shop before Adam had dragged her outside and then… and then…

Her eyes landed on Adam, watching her from across the room as she sat up hesitantly. Her eyes never left him, wary of him as one is wary of a lion prowling close to them. She flinched back into the lounge she was on as he turned to face her fully and looked down.

“Lizzy…” Adam began quietly. “I can… explain…”

Eliza frowned and ran her hands over the Asian-style satin dress she was in. “These aren’t mine…”

“You… your clothes were filthy…” Adam swallowed as she looked up, glowering at him.

“ _You_ dressed me?” she asked quietly, her eyes furious.

Adam gave her a look. “Oh, please, don’t look at me that way. We both know it’s nothing I haven’t seen before-”

“Not on me you haven’t!” Eliza shouted and flung a cushion at him.

He casually sidestepped the cushion and watched it fall before raising an eyebrow at Eliza. “ _Very_ mature, Lizzy.”

“Oh don’t talk to me about _mature_!” Eliza snarled. “You kidnapped me, stripped me, and then re-dressed me. You’ve left me with little to no dignity; so don’t you _dare_ talk to me about maturity!”

“Look, would you just… hear me out?” Adam narrowed his eyes back at her.

“I don’t have to do anything.” Eliza scoffed and stood, glancing around briefly. “Except get out of here.”

Adam quirked a single brow at her. “I really wouldn’t.” Eliza ignored him and ran for the nearest door, ducking and sliding across the wooden flooring until she slammed into the door; wrenching the door open but screaming as she felt Adam’s arms wrap around her middle and drag her back into the room. She struggled and dry sobbed as he pinned her against the end of a bookshelf. “I told you _not_ to do that…”

A strained, strangled cry of distress tore itself from Eliza as she struggled against Adam’s tight grip. “Let me go!” she flinched away slightly as Adam leant down slightly. “I’m meaningless to you, let me go!”

“Oh, if you ever believed _that_ , Eliza…” Adam breathed as he leant in again and smirked. “Then you’re either _blind_ , or kidding yourself.”

Eliza swallowed anxiously and turned her head away. “Get off me.”

“Why?” Adam smirked as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “The flush in your cheeks denotes you’d rather I _didn’t_ release you.”

“Even so,” Eliza murmured…and then began shouting. “You fucking kidnapped me! You’re using me as leverage to find the means to your own demise.” She scowled up at him, her voice suddenly dangerously low. “Looking for more reasons to inflict harm to yourself and others? Ripping out my heart and betraying whatever friendship or feeling I had for you wasn’t enough for you?!”

“It’s not just _you_ , you know.” Adam let out an irritated huff. “It takes two to flirt.”

“Oh no, _I_ was flirting. _You_ were indifferent.” Eliza scoffed. “Is that why you despise life now? Or is it the concept of compassion you dislike so?”

“That’s not-”

“Oh! I know! You can’t _feel_ anymore.” Eliza’s tone turned cruel. “You heart finally gave up trying for you.” She glared smugly up at him. “Were you looking for a faster expiration date for your condition?” Eliza demanded harshly. “Or your saving grace?”

“I gave up on any hope of salvation nearly two thousand years ago.” Adam replied just as bluntly. “I’ve been looking for reasons to die…” Adam shouted then lowered his voice. “And now I’ve found a reason to live…”

Eliza froze as she met his gaze and then shook her head. “No… no. You don’t get to say that and look at me like that… you can’t expect me to-” she was cut short in her ramblings by Adam forcibly pressing his mouth against hers. She tilted her head forward to break the kiss. “You want me to believe you feel for me? After what you did?”

“You’re halfway to believing it already, darling.” Adam chuckled quietly. “If only-”

“If only I’d give in?” Eliza finished for him and shoved him away. “You should’ve known it’d never be that easy.”

“Lizzy…” Adam began, his tone reprimanding…then his phone rang.

Lizzy shooed him away. “Go on then. Go on and run the world. Make people do what you want because you’ll kill them if they don’t.”

Adam narrowed his eyes as he answered the phone and stepped outside. “This isn’t over.” He said sternly and closed and locked the door.

“Oh yes it fucking is.” Eliza huffed and plonked herself down on the lounge he’d placed her on before.

God help her, she loved him. Loved him so much it hurt. But this was the worst situation she could’ve been landed in with him…   
If only there was a way to make him see there was another way… even if only for the short time she would live for, there was another way.

Eliza glanced to her right and did a double take. There was a gun case on the table and, as she heard Adam shouting, a single thought occurred to her…  
              _‘Make him admit it…’_

***

He’d come back from the phone call only a few minutes after leaving, and already they were back to arguing…

“No! You don’t understand! I don’t want this! This is a speck, a moment, another unimportant event in a long line of unimportant events!” Adam shouted loudly, pacing again. “I spent so long finding the nerve to actually end it all! I don’t want a reason to keep going! I don’t want-”

“Me.” Eliza swallowed thickly, her voice trembling with tears. “You don’t want _me_.” She took a long shuddering breath and then shoved Adam away roughly, twisting her wrists out of his grasp and glowering at him through unshed tears. “To be told you’re worthless by someone your own age, whether you do or don’t know them... _that_ hurts.” She turned away and took a step towards the gun case on the table. “But to be told you mean nothing by a man who’d actually _know_ …” she let a single tear fall down her cheek as she opened the case and ran her fingers over the single-shot pistol inside, half looking over her shoulder. “Well… can you imagine?”

“Lizzy…” Adam trailed off, his voice quiet.

“No. Don’t say my name like it means something to you after you’ve called me and my love for you _nothing_.” Eliza rounded on him, her hip pressed against the table and her hand over the pistol. “You might not care, but _I_ do.” She gripped the pistol and swallowed. “You’ve decided you want to die… and I’ve decided I don’t want to live without you.” She swung the pistol around and raised it level with her head. “So…”

“You won’t.” Adam replied calmly, but his eyes showed he wanted to scream at her. “You’d never have the nerve to pull the trigger…”

“Oh, don’t I?” Eliza felt another tear fall against her cheek as she cocked the guns hammer with her thumb and looked Adam dead in the eye. “Maybe now I’ve done us both a favour. I won’t have to live without you… and you’ll have your reason to die.”

“Don’t…” Adam swallowed and took a step towards her.

“Goodbye, Adam…” Eliza sobbed and closed her eyes.

Adam saw her finger tighten on the trigger. “Lizzy! _No!_ ” he screamed as the gun went off, the loud bang echoing around the room and a plume of smoke erupted from the chamber… but Eliza remained standing… alive… and unharmed.

Eliza opened her eyes and tossed the pistol onto the table beside her. “It wasn’t loaded you idiot.” A disapproving glare passed between the pair. “But, next time, it _will_ be.”

“You’d seriously do that to me?!” Adam gaped.

“I love you, God forgive me, but I do.” Eliza sighed, wiping away tears as she tried to steady her voice. “This is your choice now. You live, I live. You die…” she levelled her gaze with his. “ _I_ die.”


End file.
